 Congo Free State |  United States |
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Relations between the Congo Free State and the United States began after recognition between the two states in 1885 when the Congo Free State was established. After Belgium under Leopold II annexed the Congo Free State in 1908, later becoming Belgian Congo, relations ceased between the two nations.
The United States outside of Belgium became the first Western nation to recognize the establishment of the Congo Free State on September 11, 1885, in a letter written by President Grover Cleveland to Leopold II. [1] Prior to the recognition of the Free State, the United States Senate authorized President Chester A. Arthur to recognize the International Association of the Congo, the predecessor state of the Free State, declaring, "to recognize the flag of the AIC as the equal of that of an allied government." [2]
George Washington Williams, a former soldier in the American Civil War, visited Belgium and interviewed Leopold II to write articles as a representative for S. S. McClure's Associated Literary Press. Williams became impressed with Leopold and discussed his interest in traveling to the Free State. President of the United States Benjamin Harrison and his administration backed Williams' trip. Arriving in 1890, Williams discovered abuses against the local population of the colony which had been rumored to have been occurring prior to his journey. Among the discovery of the abuses were a private militia employed by Leopold to enforce rubber production by the Congolese, abuse of workers and their families, resulting in a state of slavery for many families, physical mutilation of workers who could not meet production goals, and a high rate of deaths. [3]
From Stanley Falls, Williams wrote "An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo" on July 18, 1890. [4] In this letter, he condemned the brutal and inhuman treatment of the Congolese at the hands of Europeans and Africans supervising them for the Congo Free State. He mentioned the role played by Henry Morton Stanley, sent to the Congo by the King, in deceiving and mistreating local Congolese. Williams reminded the King that the crimes committed were all committed in his name, making him as guilty as the perpetrators. He appealed to the international community of the day to "call and create an International Commission to investigate the charges herein preferred in the name of Humanity ...". [4]
The King and his supporters tried to discredit Williams, but he continued to speak out about the abuses in the Congo Free State, helping to generate actions in Belgium and the international community. Eventually, the Belgian government took over supervising the Congo Free State and tried to improve treatment of the Congolese. The letter became famous for coining the term "crimes against humanity". [5]
As a result of the impact of Williams' letter, Leopold II annexed the region on November 15, 1908, ending the Congo Free State's independent existence and becoming the Belgian Congo under the direct rule of the Belgian Empire. The U.S. never established formal diplomatic relations with the Free State as there had been no exchange of diplomats from either side. [6] The region of the Congo Free State would gain independence from Belgium in 1960 becoming Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Zaire, and currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo which the U.S. recognized in 1960.
Leopold II was the second King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885-1908.
The Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo, was a large state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by and in a personal union with King Leopold II; it was not a part of, nor did it belong to, the Kingdom of Belgium, of which he was the constitutional monarch. Leopold was able to seize the region by convincing other European states at the Berlin Conference on Africa that he was involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work and would not tax trade. Via the International Association of the Congo, he was able to lay claim to most of the Congo Basin. On 29 May 1885, after the closure of the Berlin Conference, the king announced that he planned to name his possessions "the Congo Free State", an appellation which was not yet used at the Berlin Conference and which officially replaced "International Association of the Congo" on 1 August 1885. The Congo Free State operated as a separate nation from Belgium, in a personal union with its King. It was privately controlled by Leopold II, although he never personally visited the state.
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa (1998) is a best-selling popular history book by Adam Hochschild that explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 and 1908, as well as the large-scale atrocities committed during that period. The book, also a general biography of the private life of Leopold, succeeded in increasing public awareness of these crimes in recent decades.
George Washington Williams was a soldier in the American Civil War and in Mexico before becoming a Baptist minister, politician, lawyer, journalist, and writer on African-American history.
Belgium controlled several territories and concessions during the colonial era, principally the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1960 and Ruanda-Urundi from 1922 to 1962. It also had small concessions in Guatemala (1843–1854) and in China (1902–1931) and was a co-administrator of the Tangier International Zone in Morocco.
The Casement Report was a 1904 document written by Roger Casement (1864–1916)—a diplomat and Irish independence fighter—detailing abuses in the Congo Free State which was under the private ownership of King Leopold II of Belgium. This report was instrumental in Leopold finally relinquishing his private holdings in Africa. Leopold had held ownership of the Congolese state since 1885, granted to him by the Berlin Conference, in which he exploited its natural resources for his own private wealth.
Henry Shelton Sanford was a wealthy American diplomat and businessman from Connecticut who served as United States Minister to Belgium from 1861 to 1869. He is also known for founding the city of Sanford, Florida and for successfully lobbying the United States into recognizing King Leopold II's claim to the Congo region in central Africa, the area that would become Leopold's privately controlled Congo Free State.
The United States and Belgium maintain a friendly bilateral relationship. Continuing to celebrate cooperative U.S. and Belgian relations, 2007 marked the 175th anniversary of the nations' relationship.
Belgium–Congo relations refers to relations between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The relationship started with the exploration of the Congo river by Henry Morton Stanley.
The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have maintained diplomatic relations since 1961 and contacts between the two regions stretch back to 1887 when representatives of the Congo Free State established contacts with the court of the Qing dynasty. The first treaty between the two powers was signed in 1898.
The Congo Free State propaganda war was a worldwide media propaganda campaign waged by both King Leopold II of Belgium and the critics of the Congo Free State and its atrocities. Leopold was very astute in using the media to support his virtual private control of the Congo. British campaigner Edmund Dene Morel successfully campaigned against Leopold and focused public attention on the violence of Leopold's rule. Morel used newspaper accounts, pamphlets, and books to publish evidence from reports, eye-witness testimony, and pictures from missionaries and others involved directly in the Congo. As Morel gained high-profile supporters, the publicity generated by his campaign eventually forced Leopold to relinquish control of the Congo to the Belgian government.
The Speech at the Ceremony of the Proclamation of the Congo's Independence was a short political speech given by Patrice Lumumba on 30 June 1960 at the ceremonies marking the independence of the Republic of Congo from Belgium. It is best known for its outspoken criticism of colonialism.
The Léopoldville riots were an outbreak of civil disorder in Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo which took place in January 1959 and which were an important moment for the Congolese independence movement. The rioting occurred when members of the Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO) political party were not allowed to assemble for a protest and colonial authorities reacted harshly. The exact death toll is not known, but at least 49 people were killed and total casualties may have been as high as 500. Following these riots, a round table conference was organized in Brussels to negotiate the terms of Congo's independence, The Congo received its independence on 30 June 1960, becoming the Republic of the Congo.
In the period from 1885 to 1908, many atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State which, at the time, was a state under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians. These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubber for export. Together with epidemic disease, famine, and a falling birth rate caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese population. The magnitude of the population fall over the period is disputed, with modern estimates ranging from 1.5 million to 13 million.
The Colonial Charter on the Belgian annexation of the Congo Free State was approved by the Belgian Parliament on 18 October 1908. On 15 November 1908, Belgium assumed sovereignty over the territories comprising the Congo Free State, officially making the Belgian Congo a colony of Belgium.
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Turkey relations are the bilateral relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Kinshasa since 1974, and the DR Congo opened its embassy in Ankara in 2011.
Belgian apologies to the Congo are the subject of a societal debate in Belgium over the expression of apologies for the role that country has played in the atrocities that have been committed in the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo between 1885 and 1960, as well as the colony of Ruanda-Urundi (1924–1962).
The Orange Free State and the United States began relations in 1871 with the U.S. recognizing the former, but formal relations were never established and ended in 1902 after the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging concluding the Second Boer War.
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Germany relations are primarily characterized by the development aid that Germany provides in the DR Congo. Germany is one of the most important donor countries to the DR Congo.
This article incorporates public domain material from "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: The Congo Free State". U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets . United States Department of State.
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